Apparel Merchants, Take Note:
Google recently announced that starting October 14th, they will be redirecting shoppers from their Boutiques.com and Like.com websites to Google Product Search (GPS).
Why? As with all of their recent feed specification changes, this is part of their overall sweep to enhance the user experience, creating an "innovative apparel shopping experience", thus attracting more shoppers that convert. Among their enhanced features, like the ability to browse by price, color, gender and even silhouette, for instance, is the ability to view visually similar styles, (pretty cool!) as seen here below:
Update your Google Product Search Feed
If you're an apparel merchant who is submitting your feed to Like.com or Boutiques.com, be aware that your datafeed will not automatically transition to Google Product Search, so make sure you are submitting an updated Google Product Search feed that meets all their new requirements.
As noted on their posting:
"As we continue to integrate technology and lessons learned from Boutiques.com into Google Product Search, we will be redirecting shoppers from Boutiques.com to Google Product Search. The former Like.com team, alongside the Google Product Search team, will drive new ideas for apparel shopping through one unified product. "
Check out their new look & feel on Google's Commerce blog
Check out their new look & feel on Google's Commerce blog
